OKC Outmatched By Playstyle Similar To Its Own

After Oklahoma City’s second loss to the Spurs in just 10 days, there has to be a reason for San Antonio’s success. However, the answers to the Spurs' success might be things the Thunder are very familiar with.

The 20-point loss the Thunder suffered Tuesday night is something the OKC squad is not familiar with this season, with the Thunder’s next worst loss only being by five points. The Spurs were ready to play and took a note out of the Thunder’s book by smothering OKC on the defensive end.

Oklahoma City has prided itself on taking the ball away and allowing its offense to produce because of its defense. Because of this, the Thunder have rarely lost the turnover battle, but this wasn’t the case on Tuesday night.

The Spurs brought that aggressive defensive play right to the Thunder, and it didn’t seem like OKC was ready for it. The Spurs won the turnover battle commandingly, only turning the ball over eight times compared to the Thunder’s 15. This, in turn, allowed San Antonio to score 20 points off turnovers.

Spurs guard Dylan Harper led the charge as he had five steals, more than the whole Thunder team. Harper not only displayed the defense regularly seen out of OKC, but also efficiency with the ball. He might’ve not led San Antonio in scoring as he only had four points, but Harper was the game leader in assists with 10 and didn’t turn the ball over a single time.

Oklahoma City also struggled to get to the free-throw line tonight, only shooting seven shots from the line. The Thunder squad, which averaged more than 24 free throw attempts per game before tonight’s bout, was outplayed by their own tactics as the Spurs got to the line for 24 free throw attempts and made 18 of them.

Overall, the Spurs didn’t do anything Oklahoma City hasn’t seen before, because it was the same way the Thunder has played all year. Playing their fourth game in six days didn’t help the OKC squad in this physical, fast-paced match-up, but it's what happens when every team makes sure to give the Thunder its best game.

Luckily for Oklahoma City, it will get another shot at San Antonio on Christmas Day, and this time in front of its home crowd. The Thunder will be looking to show the Spurs and the league that nobody plays their brand of basketball better than them.